Avaliação dos sintomas de depressão na deficiência visual: estudo sobre a cegueira

Abstract

Introduction: the visual system is responsible for the integration of several functions, so blindness when not adequately lived may favor the development of depressive symptomatology. Objective: to evaluate the symptoms of depression in blindness and its determinants. Methodology: the date gathering was made using: semi-structured interview, to know the sociodemographic profile of the sample and the conditions of the disability; the Beck Depression Inventory, to evaluate the symptoms of depression and a visual acuity test, to verify the perception of light. The study was carried out in the region of Legal Amazon, in the municipality of Macapá-Amapá. To evaluate the occurrence of symptoms of depression in blindness and to identify the existence of a relationship between the categorical variables, the Mann-Whitney statistical test was applied and, to correlate the numerical variables, the Spearman Correlation test was used, and the significance value p <0.05. Results: the sample consisted of 68 blind people, with a predominance of males (60.3%), in the age group above 50 years (33.8%), unmarried individuals (57.3%) with higher education (44.1%) and family income between 1-3 minimum salaries (36.7%). The highest index was blind between 10-20 years (26.5%), with blindness time between 01 month-10 years (29.4%), with no light perception in both eyes (53%), with good capacity of locomotion (42.6%) and displacement with the aid of a guide (75%). The presence of symptoms of depression was observed in 39.7% of the sample, with level of statistical significance p = 0.001. After stratification, using the Beck Depression Inventory, the determinants for depressive symptomatology were: female; advanced age; lower schooling; better family income; greater age of blindness; shorter duration of blindness; absence of light in both eyes and displacement performed with the aid of a guide. Conclusions: the results indicated that there is a significant association between blindness and symptoms of depression and that some determinants for this symptomatology can not be controlled, therefore, it is recommended that health professionals work in the promotion of mental health, aiming to improve the quality of life and social inclusion of this population